Cryopeeling for treatment of photodamage and actinic keratosis: liquid nitrogen versus portable system.

BACKGROUND Cryopelling uses diffuse cryotherapy not only on lesions of actinic keratosis but all over the photodamaged skin. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to compare two cryopeeling methods (liquid nitrogen- LN and portable system - PS) and demonstrate their efficiency in the treatment of actinic keratoses, patient tolerance, researcher and patient preference and aesthetic results. METHODS Sixteen patients (N = 16) with multiple actinic keratoses on the forearms were subjected to cryopeeling with LN on one of the forearms and PS on the other, randomly. RESULTS In the treatment of actinic keratoses, LN obtained 74% efficiency and PS, 62% (p = 0.019). The mean visual analogue scale (0-10) was 5.7 ± 1.61 with LN and 4.3 ± 1.44 with PS (p = 0.003). There was no significant statistical difference between the two methods in terms of researcher and patient preference. An analysis of the photos showed improvement of the skin appearance with both treatments (p <0.001). Treatment with LN obtained some degree of improvement in 62.5% of the cases, while treatment with PS obtained some degree of improvement in 52% of the cases (p> 0.05). DISCUSSION Treatment with the PS showed better tolerance, but was less efficient than LN. Although LN has been the preferred method, there was no statistical difference between the methods. CONCLUSIONS The cryopeeling technique may be an option in the treatment of photodamage. The PS can be an interesting alternative in clinical practice with good tolerance and acceptable results in the treatment of actinic keratoses.